RedShark Content Manager, Chris Wells, has been using the new Sony MDR-M1 professional headphones for video editing, podcast production, and general audiophile fun! Here are his first impressions of Sony's newest professional headphones.
The world of audio equipment is a fraught, haunted forest of confusing names and buzzwords that often have their actual meaning eroded through overuse. So when you usually hear the term ‘professional’ headphones, it could mean so many different things depending on who’s saying it. Fortunately, with a brand like Sony, words still mean things.
The Sony MDR-M1 headphones are a new set of professional studio reference headphones. They are also a close sibling (and probable eventual successor) of the iconic Sony MDR-7506s, which you can still find in many recording studios or film sets today despite being nearly as old as I am.
For anyone unfamiliar, professional studio headphones are designed to represent the audio accurately with as little built-in EQ influence as possible. Those sparkly highs and boomy bass are avoided to allow a more ‘flat’ profile, ensuring nothing gets too overwhelmed or muddied during playback. This makes them essential for mixing audio properly to a neutral baseline so that when it hits the public’s plethora of wildly different EQ’d equipment, it won’t sound too bassy or distorted (probably/hopefully).
While the headphones themselves share the looks of the 7506s, the cable is now detachable and is the normal straight kind as opposed to the attached coiled tangle magnet cable of the previous. The box includes two cables: a 1.2m and a longer 2.5m, with 3.5mm connectors (one for the headphones and one for whatever you’re plugging it into) and a screw-on adapter for converting the latter to a quarter-inch jack.
The build quality is excellent for what is a primarily plastic pair of headphones. As is standard with Sony, they feel rugged and both cups fold in flat, so it feels like they could survive being chucked in a bag. The thick earpads are pleasant, soft, and easily removable when the time comes to replace them.
They isolate sound really well, even when you’re spoiled like me from all the active noise control of more consumer-focused headphones. Sound barely leaks out when you’re wearing them too, helping you avoid being that annoying person in public while doing your work. They feel lightweight at a reported 7.6 ounces / 215 grams (without cable) and are very comfortable on the head; you can tell Sony designed these for those long mastering sessions.
The 40mm dynamic drivers are capable of ultra-wideband playback from 5Hz to 80kHz, like their open-backed sibling, the MDR-MV1s. The logic is that the wider frequency response means it strains the drivers much less and allows more accurate representation of the high and low frequencies. It also has a special hole in the top called a ‘Beat Response Control’ that optimizes the operation of the diaphragm for tighter bass response.
As someone whose variable technicolor music taste is better suited for a more uncolored and neutral headphone, I am very excited to give them a go from an audio-listening perspective. My first blast listen of Strapping Young Lad, Charlie XCX, and Max Richter all sounded profoundly clear with excellent detail at all frequencies.
My initial impressions are very promising, especially for those looking for reliable, studio-ready equipment. Stay tuned for my upcoming review video, where I’ll dive even deeper into how these headphones perform over time across various use cases.
The headphones are available now and priced at $249 / €249/ £209.